All-community meet to restore peace in Kandhamal On Oct 2

The meeting, attended by representatives of Hindus, Christians, tribals and Scheduled Castes, decided to hold a district-level peace rally on Gandhi Jayanthi day.

Top officials of the government, including Secretary of the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe Development Department, Taradatt, and Kandhamal District Collector Krishan Kumar, attended the meeting. Representatives of various non-governmental organisations were also present. ...more

Nun was gang raped and priest brutally assaulted in Kandhamal

Parvathi Menon  The Hindu   September 30, 2008

FIRs lodged but no arrests by State government; no response from Centre; Sister Nirmala wrote to CM and PM appealing for protection to Christians

The Orissa government has failed to take any action, under the law of the land, against those who committed bestial crimes — the gang rape of a 28-year-old Catholic nun and the brutal attack on a Catholic priest who courageously resisted their attempts to force him to participate in the atrocity.  ...more 

 Sister Nirmala, head of the Mother Teresa's Missionaries writes to  CM and PM

Church in India Under Attack 

We are paying a heavy price for our blind faith in the Congress. 

George Menezes in Hindustan Times

First, the Christian church is fragmented. I use the word ‘Christian’ to include all her denominations. There are thousands of churches all over India and there is no authority to unite and speak on their behalf. Even the well-organised Catholic church consists of three rites and a host of disparate organisations of the laity. Efforts to set up a body for broad consultation within the church have not borne fruit yet.

Second, the community is fragmented. Despite the tremendous activism of the laity, Christian lay organisations are unable to present a single front. They try to upstage each other, ride piggyback on others’ successes and criticise each other publicly.

When the nuns in Gajraula were raped, we called George Fernandes, then the Minister for Railways. The next day he took AICU members in his jeep and visited the nuns to assuage their fears. It did not matter that the Janata Dal was in power. Neither did it matter that he was a Mangalorean and the nuns and AICU leaders were not. Today, the scenario has changed. We are paying a heavy price for our blind faith in the Congress. We have not lobbied with other major parties and we have openly declared our hostility to the BJP.

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22,000 Christian victims in the relief camps in Orissa: shortage of clothes, milk, toilets

Communists seek better facilities in relief camps

A  three-member fact finding team of Orissa unit of CPI(M) visited Kandhamal.

The team of Jagannath Mishra, Kailsah Sadangi and Judhisthir Sahu said: "There were extreme shortage of clothes among victims especially women, who had to flee their villages with only clothes they had worn," said Sadangi. The state of infants up to the age of six months was pitiable as milk was not being provided at relief material for these newborns.  The physical condition of their mothers was also preventing the infants to get sufficient breast feeding. Mishra said the sanitary condition of the relief camps had deteriorated due to the rains.  Despite all theefforts of the district administration  lack of proper number of toilets at the relief camps surely bring in the fear of gastro epidemic. Most relief camps run in schools which had limited number of toilets. People live in the rooms of the schools or the tents erected in the school field.

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 22,000 Christian victims in the relief camps in Orissa: shortage of clothes, milk, toilets

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Day of prayer and fasting for Christians in Orissa, together with Hindus and Muslims

In Ranchi (Jharkhand), Cardinal Thelesphore Toppo gathered more than 6,000 people on the Loyola grounds, a few hundred meters from the cathedral. Members from all the religions participated in the celebration, with prayers and readings taken from the different sacred books: Hindus, Sikhs, Muslims, Sarnas (tribal religions), Protestants, and Catholics. The mayor of the city, Rama Xalxo, also participated in the gathering, which lasted more than an hour and a half.

In Mumbai, Cardinal Oswald Gracias gathered people of different religions in Azad Maidan, to express rejection of the pseudo-religious struggle against the Christians of Orissa. Swami Agnivesh, head of the world council of Arya Samaj (a reformist Hindu group) also participated. He emphasized that "the Hindu population in general does not support the atrocities unleashed by the radicals in Orissa". Referring to the destruction and burning of churches and Christian villages, he asked all to "kindle inner fire instead, and work on behalf of humanity".  

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‘They burnt my disabled brother alive’

Aditi Tandon writes from Bhubaneshwar

346 Dalit Christians walked over 300 km through mountains and forests to escape the killers of Kandhamal.  They told the story of Motilal Pradhan’s story  that he was burnt alive by the Sangh Parivar. Ravindranath Pradhan, one of the deceased’s brothers and other  members of the family of 14 watched with helplessness the gory end their kin met. They had no time to mourn him, as rioters intensified their search for missing people. In no time, the Pradhans were in the jungles around Kandhamal, searching for protection. For four days, they slept in forests, barefoot, sleepless and hungry. Read more

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Citizens Delegation meets President Pratibha Patil

Submitted by Tarique Anwar on 1 September 2008 - 6:58pm. 

By TwoCircles.net news desk,

New Delhi: A Citizens Delegation met President Pratibha Patil on Monday morning calling upon her to enforce Article 355 of the Constitution of India on Orissa so that the Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik administration takes adequate measures to protect Christians in the state from Hindutva violence.

The delegation reminded the President that the violence that has continued against Christians in Orissa from 23rd August till today justifies the use of this Article. The violence far exceeds that of Christmas 2007, the delegation told the President, reminding her that she had a big role to play at this juncture.

The Citizen's delegation, the first such to meet the President, was led by film maker Mahesh Bhatt and Jamiat-e-Ulema-e-Hind President Maulana Mahmood Madani, MP, National Integration Council member Dr John Dayal, Orissa Archbishop Raphael Cheenath, Delhi Archbishop Vincent Concessao, Maharashtra Government State Minorities Commission vice chairman Dr Abraham Mathai, Jamiat leader Mohd Faruqi, Al India Christian Council regional secretary Rev Madhu Chandra, Delhi Catholic Archdiocese Federation President Adv Jenis Francis and Mumbai's Catholic Social Forum secretary general Joseph Dias were the other members.  Read more

Citizen's Memorandum to the President of India

We, the secular civil society community, perceive that the great nation of India is at a tipping point. The groups, which favour a "Hindu Rashtra", have made Orissa their laboratory, as they earlier did Gujarat. The so-called saffronisation of the state has been the subject of well-documented academic and socio-political studies. We entreat you, as President of the Republic, to enforce the rule of law upon Sangh Parivar organisations which blatantly flaunt their divisive agenda. Specifically, we call upon you to bring the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh, and Bajrang Dal under the rule of law.

As Orissa authorities have repeatedly said there was ample circumstantial evidence of Maoist involvement in the killing of VHP leader Lakshmananada Saraswati and four others on August 23rd. Additionally, someone who identified himself as Azad, a leader of Maoist outfit, People's Liberation Guerrilla Army claim responsibility for the killing as Times of India carries the news on August 30 referring to an interview with a leading Oriya daily on August 29.[1]

Yet Praveen Togadia, VHP general secretary, told an international journalist on August 27, "It is clear that the church killed the Swami."[2] Gouri Prasad Rath, Orissa state VHP secretary, said, "This attack is the handiwork of the Christians."[3] Subhash Chavan, national co-convener of the Bajrang Dal, said, "The police are trying to hide the truth by blaming the Maoists."[4] An unnamed RSS spokesperson said, "This is an attack by the agents of Christian missionaries, whose attempts at forcible conversions the Swamiji countered."[5] RSS spokesperson Ram Madhav told CNN IBN on Tuesday night[6] that Christians were behind the murders. Perhaps based on a media report[7], Madhav The final word lay with RSS supreme Kupahalli Sudershan who in a Press Statement faxed to the Media called the late VHP vice president a martyr for "stopping Christians from carrying on coversions."

These types of irresponsible statements must be met with the full force of the law. They are all culpable for penal action under IPC 295A for the crime of creating enmity between communities and religions. This would benefit not only Orissa, but the nation. Read more 

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Rioting is rarely ‘spontaneous’

Research by scholars like Paul Brass has shown that no community rage can intensify into a riot without political, government and police help. That is, people may be full of anger, hatred and violence towards each other, but full-scale mob violence is only possible with good organisation, mobilisation, official complicity, and time and space provided by the law enforcers for law breakers to have their way. This is a worldwide phenomenon. A good example is how Hitler and the Nazis mobilised incipient, vague and petty anger against Jews in Europe into full-blown genocide. Read full article

WHEN ORISSA was gripped under violence targeted against Christians by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) extremists, there came a report of the World Bank’s latest estimates on global poverty. As per the report, 42 per cent of Indian population (456 million people) is living below newly adjusted international poverty line of $1.25 per day. The population of the poor has reached to 33 per cent (one-third) of the global poor. Moreover, it is quite shocking, but not surprising that those who are engaged in promoting education, moral and social upliftment to the weaker sections of the society, and providing financial support to the poor and downtrodden of our society are being targeted by the enemies of the humanity Read Full article Sphere: Related Content

Aid to the Church in Need: INDIA: Government “aided” attacks on India’s Christians

Government “aided” attacks on India’s Christians

Orissa state Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik who visited the affected areas said “I saw damaged houses, damaged buildings during visit to some village in Kandhamal district.

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Orissa Update

Eight prayer houses were damaged in Kundra area of Koraput on Sunday

 Film Director Mahesh Bhatt will meet President Pratibha Patil on Monday

All India Christian Council in a press release on Sunday said a delegation led by noted Film Director Mahesh Bhatt will meet Indian President Pratibha Patil on Monday to apprise her about miseries being faced by the Christian community in Orissa state. Full Story

Shambhu Nath Naik, independent legislator of the Orissa state assembly:

Murder of Swami was a planned conspiracy against Christians

More than 100 people have lost their lives

Shambhu Nath Naik, independent legislator of the Orissa state assembly, attacked the state government saying that it is a state sponsored anti-Christian communal violence.

He said that no FIR has been registered so far against the arrested rioters. There is coalition government of Biju Janata Dal (BJD), Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) in the state and they are providing logistic support to the VHP people to spread violence and create havoc.

We are not allowed to visit affected areas, he said responding to a question.

He alleged that murder of Swami was a planned conspiracy against Christians there. Swami got a life threat just 26 hours before his murder and despite this threat his PSO, provided him by the government, went on leave and all other police officials deputed for his security, went for dinner just minutes before his killing.

When asked about the official record of death he told that it says 40 lives but more than 100 people have lost their lives in this communal violence. Full Story

Cardinal Oswald Gracias : the persecution against the Church is aimed at stopping Christian promotion of the person

The Archbishop of Bombay and president of the Latin Rite Bishops of India, Cardinal Oswald Gracias said on Vatican Radio that . “These fundamentalist forces do not want the Church to work in support of human rights and the poor. They do not want the Church to contribute to improving the standard of living of these people. For this reason there are problems,” he added. Full Story


Hindu activists had forced about 3,000 Christans in riot-affected parts of the state to renounce their religion in the past few days. But Hindu leaders said all the conversions were voluntary.

“Armed Hindu activists are raiding the villages and threatening them with violence if they do not convert to Hinduism immediately.

“Fearing for their lives, the poor Christians are taking part in the rituals of conversion to Hinduism. For the past week, in many villages, Hindu activists have been conducting forced conversions,” he said.
“The most unfortunate fact is that everything is happening under the nose of the authorities. Despite our appeals neither the state government nor the local police have done anything to protect the Christians.”

Hindu leaders say that their ongoing Hindu “homecoming” ceremonies are being attended voluntarily by Christians. Full story Sphere: Related Content

VHP Plans kalash march for Swami Laxmananda

The BJD-BJP government in Orissa has been complicit in some way in the ongoing Christian cleansing in the State.

Praveen Togadia,VHP Leader, for example, was allowed by the state administration to visit the affected areas.

The swami’s funeral march was allowed to travel 200 km through the district, provoking violence. Wherever it went, arson, looting and killing followed the march. Now they are planning a kalash march. The kalash is supposed to carry the ashes of the swami but there are no ashes really.

Read it all

FACT SHEET OF ORISSA HAPPENINGS

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Orissa: Jeypore burning

Saturday,30 August 2008 21:56 hrs IST

A large mob near the district headquarters town of Koraput tonight blocked roads ensuing that no movement of force could be possible to Jeypore town which was literally burning. The district magistrate of Koraput Balakrushna Sahu and Deputy Inspector General of Police Sanjeev Panda who were on the way to Jeypore town along with forces, failed to reach the disturbed areas because of the blockade, sources said. Read it all
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The Story of Kandhamaal

Kandhmaal is tribal dominated district in central Orissa.

It gets its name from the Kandhaa tribes which form 55 per cent of the population.The district also has a Dalit population of 15% and a Christian population of 25 per cent. Eighty per cent of the population lives below the poverty line. The literacy rate is only 52 per cent which is much below the national average.

About five decades agao the Christian missionaries started various philanthropic works by serving the poor and diseased, giving education to children and providing them livelihood. .

The Christian population has now risen to one lakh eighty thousand from only 14 thousand in 1970s. The number of churches and prayer houses built in last few decades is over one thousand. Read more

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Hindu Neighbours Protect Christians

Some of the 150,000 Christians in the Kandhamal area have been sheltered by Hindu neighbours, but about 5,000 are believed to have sought refuge in the forests, with up to 10,000 under guard in camps set up by the government. The Oberver. Read it all

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Orissa under mob justice: 2000 houses destroyed

23 members of the Digal family killed
6000 people in relief camps: DNA News

Curfew imposed in Jeypore town


137 people arrested and 39 cases registered in connection with the violence.Read more
Centre favours CBI probe, Science and Technology Minister Kapil Sibal told reporters

Christians are forcibly Reconverted to Hinduism

Maoists say: "We killed Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati to avenge his villainous role in Kandhmal," said Azad, a leader of Maoist outfit, People's Liberation Guerrilla Army, in an interview to a leading Oriya daily on Friday. Read more

There is a complete collapse of gov­ernance in Orissa.
The Central Government should act to protect the People, the Church leaders ask.

The Bishop of Phulbani in the Church of North India (CNI), the Rt Revd Bijay Nayak, gave a graphic account of the events in his area by email. He writes: “Situation is very critical. More than 15 people are killed, among them seven are from our church from Barakhama and Udayagiri. Many church buildings are destroyed and still going on. Many many people are in jungle out of fear. Balliguda hostel, Udayagiri boys and girls hostel children were in the jungle last night. Continuously they are de­stroy­ing the people’s houses.

“Mr Mathew Naik is killed at Kritangia village near Raikia. He was boys’ hostel superintendent for many years and at present he was Diocese executive member. They caught and put him in the water and cut into pieces and burnt in front of the Church. They have also targeted the Christian leaders of the district. All the leaders are hiding. I request you with tears kindly organize the prayer for us.”

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45,000 Church institutions catering to Five million students remain closed to bring spotlight on Orissa violence
Christian denominations like the Church of South India (CSI) and Marthoma Syrian Church joined the protest against the violence. “All those attending our institutions will attend work wearing black badges," said an official of Mar Thoma Church at its headquarters in Thiruvalla. In Kerala, around 5,900 educational institutions remained closed. The institutions that were closed in Kerala include four medical colleges and 11 engineering colleges run by the Catholic Church.

In Delhi scores of Christians marched to Orissa Bhawan, the office of the state resident commissioner, to protest the violence in Orissa against Christians. “Christians from at least 30 churches across the country participated in the rally in Delhi.

Several social activists like Udit Raj and Teesta Setelvad also participated in the protest march to Orissa Bhawan and addressed the gathering there. Read more

7th to 21st September, to be observed as a fortnight of prayer and solidarity for peace and harmony of all people of faith in India.

NCCI intitating an inter-faith peace group for peace measures in Orissa.

Rev.Raj Bharath Patta,Executive Secretary, Commission on Dalits and Adivasis, National Council of Churches in India, writes:

At a moment like this, we all need to be united in our efforts, and we in NCCI are working hard to get connected with people in Orissa through our regional council, the Utkal Christian Council. An inter-faith peace group is envisaged to be initiated for peace measures in Orissa, and I also request you all to organise inter-faith groups in your localities in sensitizing them in addressing issues on communal violence and for a wider network of solidarity for the Dalit Christians in Orissa.

It was also decided that on the 7th September 2008, Sunday, the Churches will declare a day of prayer and fasting and will hold prayer services and memorial gatherings, highlighting the need for solidarity with all the victims and pray for peace and harmony among people of all faiths. Therefore I urge you all to join in observing the day of prayer on the 7th, wherever you are and take the lead in your local congregations to do so. At our NCCI secretariat, few prayers and a brief worship order has been prepared and is posted on our NCCI website for you all to make use of those resources for the 7th. As we all know 21st September is celebrated as the International Day of Prayer for Peace, which was initiated by the World Council of Churches, may I also ask you all to take the occasion from the 7th to 21st September, a fortnight, in calling all people of faith for prayer and solidarity for peace and harmony in India.

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Catholic schools in India protest

About 25,000 schools and colleges in India run by the Catholic Church remained closed today to protest against continuing anti-Christian violence in Orissa. The Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has described the violence as a "national disgrace".

Pope Benedict XVI labelled the death of Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati as "deplorable". He said,"I firmly condemn any attack on human life." Pope told a crowd of pilgrims on Wednesday. "I express spiritual closeness and solidarity to the brothers and sisters in faith who are being so harshly tested."

Read

Gurukul College also Joined the protest meeting held in Chennai Central on Friday, on 29th August 2008.

Human Rights Watch, Christian Solidarity Network, Dalit Freedom Network and the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty have appealed to foreign ministers in the EU and the US to immediately call for an end to the sectarian violence in India's Orissa.

Read more

In a memorandum submitted to Dr Manmohan Singh the Christian community said, “We are pained and shocked at the merciless killings and unabated violence against the Christians all over the State of Orissa. While the Christian leaders have condemned the heinous crime perpetrated on Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati and his associates in the Ashram at Kandhamal District, Orissa, the killings of and atrocities against Christians are the evil designs of the fanatic fundamentalists. They are still continuing the violence and the State Government has failed to protect the Christians and other innocent people”.

The way Sangh goons have killed tens of Christians in the state with impunity shows that how lax we are when it comes to saving the minorities in the country.

Read more

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Gayadhar Digal Killed: Orissa High Court asks the state government to deploy army to contain violence against Christians

Watch Low Band

The number of people confirmed dead has risen to 21 on the fourth day of ongoing violence in Kandhamal district and other parts of Orissa. The Global Council of Indian Christians reported that more than 114 anti-Christian attacks have taken place in various parts of the state.

To continue reading various reports click here

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The Killing of VHP Leader evokes violence against minorities in Orissa

According to media reports thirty armed Naxals ambushed the Ban Basi Kalyan ashram for girls at Jalespata ashram, near Tumudibandh some 340 km from Bhubaneswar, in Kandhamal District of Orissa when Janmashtami celebrations were taking place on Saturday evening. The attack killed four people, including the senior VHP leader Swami Lashmananda Saraswat, the chief of the Ashram. Other dead were prominent VHP leaders, Arupananda, Chinmayananda and Mata Bhaktimayee. Saraswati has served tribes, mainly Kandhs, in the region. His main ashram is located at Chakapad in the same district.

The Naxals threw grenades and opened indiscriminate firing at the ashram. Tension broke out at some places in the tribal-dominated Kandhmal after the attack on the ashram and roads leading to Tumudibandh were sealed, police said that steps were being taken to prevent any communal flare-up in the district. Kandhamal, which witnessed violence during Christmas in December last year, has long been a communal flash point. In January this year too, violence had erupted after Christian missionaries were attacked by Hindu groups. Kandhamal district has a population of around 600,000 including 150,000 Christians.The district has been put on high alert and additional police forces, including the CRPF, have been rushed in to keep stock of the situation. Section 144 imposed in entire Kandhamal district.The whole state of Orissa has been put on high alert.

In a fallout of the Kandhamal incident, a prayer house was burnt in Tentulieadapada area of neighboring Sundargarh district on Sunday, a van of some Catholic nuns was destroyed, and the sisters were injured.

The All India Christian Council condemned the killing of VHP leader. Dr. Sam Paul, AICC National Secretary of Public Affairs, said, "The Christian community in India abhors violence, condemns all acts of terrorism, and opposes groups of people taking the law into their own hands."

VHP has called for 12-hour Orissa bandh on Monday to protest the killings.

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